What is the second largest city in Indonesia?

Palembang - the second largest city in Sumatra, Indonesia, is a seaport city with a population of approximately 2 million. The traffic in Palembang is well organized and the streets are clean, but the five-star hotels are completely different from it. Everything is so natural, simple and uncarved, which is its beauty.

Although Palembang is a highly industrialized place, behind the chimneys and oil storage depots lies a glorious history that makes the people of Palembang proud.

More than 1,000 years ago, the ancient Srivijaya Empire emerged in South Sumatra. The power of this dynasty covered the entire Strait of Malacca, and Palembang was the political and economic center of this dynasty. The first Chinese to arrive in Indonesia settled in Palembang. It was once the translation center of Mahayana Buddhism, and Hinduism also took root there. At the beginning of the 18th century, Palembang became the seat of the Islamic dynasty, adding to its legend.

Take a sampan tour on the Musi River

Palembang is divided into two halves, north and south, with the famous Musi River running through them.

On both sides of the river, there are wooden houses built on the water's edge and supported on pillars. This is a traditional house in Palembang, with the Musi River in front of the house and dry soil behind the house. According to the tour guide, this type of house was built by early Chinese immigrants.

Sitting on the motorcycle sampan, what comes into view is a fragment of the life of people living on water. To cook and boil water, use a bucket to scoop water from the river; to take a shower, sit in front of the house and scoop water over your body, or wash yourself in the river. The scene you see is unique and harmonious. As soon as I saw the people's wooden houses, a dock suddenly appeared on the left, and cargo ships were unloading and loading cargo. While fishermen were fishing in the middle of the river, there were also people selling diesel on sampans.

Enjoying the cool breeze blowing in your face, and occasionally splashing some river water on your body, you completely forgot about the fast pace of the city. However, the high sun hurt my skin, and the daytime temperature was at least 35 or 6 degrees Celsius.

Next to the ferry for taking the motor sampan, there is a fruit market with a history of 60 years. The originally plain street was beautifully decorated with bananas, coconuts, pineapples, mangoes, eggplants, and giant pumpkins. Even the sheep came to join in the fun, looking for food in the coconut shells.

The hand-woven silk cloth is mesmerizing

If you want to go on a shopping spree, Palembang will disappoint. However, the local hand-woven silk cloth will definitely make female tourists fall in love with it. Gold and silver threads swim among the silk threads, which is extremely noble.

The hand-painted dyed silk cloth is equally beautiful. Watching the masters painting patterns on the dyed fabric one by one, I couldn't help but take money out of my wallet. To make a dress and a shawl, you need about 4 meters of cloth.

Most shops are closed at 9pm, even the small shops selling the famous shrimp cakes and fish cakes, making shopping almost impossible. Only street stalls are still open, selling snacks, cigarettes and candies. In the quiet night, only the dim light from the stalls accompanied me.

After a few days, I felt that the simple beauty of Palembang is indeed an unusual tourist spot. Lin Weijie (Singapore)